For the now-abandoned mammal taxon, see Insectivora.
This aardwolf skull exhibits greatly reduced molars and carnassials teeth as they are unnecessary for any large, insectivorous animal subsisting on soft insects such as termites. The dentition of a shrew is very different. The aardwolf uses its canine teeth in self-defence (and, occasionally, in digging[citation needed]); accordingly, the canines have not been greatly reduced.A robber fly eating a hoverflyThe giant anteater, a large insectivorous mammal
An insectivore is a carnivorous animal or plant that eats insects.[1] An alternative term is entomophage,[2] which can also refer to the human practice of eating insects.
The first vertebrate insectivores were amphibians. When they evolved 400 million years ago, the first amphibians were piscivores, with numerous sharp conical teeth, much like a modern crocodile. The same tooth arrangement is however also suited for eating animals with exoskeletons, thus the ability to eat insects is an extension of piscivory.[3]
At one time, insectivorous mammals were scientifically classified in an order called Insectivora. This order is now abandoned, as not all insectivorous mammals are closely related. Most of the Insectivora taxa have been reclassified; those that have not yet been reclassified and found to be truly related to each other remain in the order Eulipotyphla.
Although individually small, insects exist in enormous numbers. Insects make up a very large part of the animal biomass in almost all non-marine, non-polar environments. It has been estimated that the global insect biomass is in the region of 1012 kg (one billion tons) with an estimated population of 1018 (one billion billion, or quintillion) organisms.[4]: 13 Many creatures depend on insects as their primary diet, and many that do not (and are thus not technically insectivores) nevertheless use insects as a protein supplement, particularly when they are breeding.[5]
^Miller, George A. (2009). "Article for insectivorous". WordNet. Princeton University. Retrieved 1 April 2010.
^Gullan, P.J.; Cranston, P.S. (2005). The Insects: An outline of entomology. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing. p. 455. ISBN 978-1-4051-1113-3.
^Dudley, Robert (2002). "Flight and the Pterygote Insecta". The Biomechanics of Insect Flight: Form, function, evolution. Princeton University Press. pp. 3–35. ISBN 978-0-691-09491-5.
^Whitney, Stephen R.; Sandelin, R. (2004). Field Guide to the Cascades & Olympics. The Mountaineers Books. p. 317. ISBN 978-0-89886-808-1. Retrieved 1 April 2010.
An insectivore is a carnivorous animal or plant that eats insects. An alternative term is entomophage, which can also refer to the human practice of eating...
other parts of the world, where it can live in human homes. It is an insectivore; it kills and eats other arthropods, such as insects and arachnids. In...
years after the first therapsids. They expanded out of their nocturnal insectivore niche from the mid-Jurassic onwards; the Jurassic Castorocauda, for example...
include carnivores (further divided into subcategories such as piscivores, insectivores, ovivores, etc.), herbivores (subcategorized into folivores, graminivores...
their main modern ecological niches as herbivores, detritivores and insectivores. Social termites and ants first appear in the Early Cretaceous, and advanced...
in the family Cuculidae. It is endemic to the Philippines. It is an insectivore. Medium, sexes similar; races differ in color carpenteri and mindorensis...
This page is a list of species of the order Insectivora discovered in the 2000s. See also parent page List of mammals described in the 2000s. In 2004,...
Iberian water shrew (Neomys anomalus) is a species of mammal in the insectivore family Soricidae. The Iberian water shrew is found in France, Portugal...
this time mammals' ancestors survived only as small, mainly nocturnal insectivores, which may have accelerated the development of mammalian traits such...
markets, but are shipped by the ton from one country to another. Nocturnal insectivores often feed on moths; these include some bats, some species of owls and...
pileatus) is a large, mostly black woodpecker native to North America. An insectivore, it inhabits deciduous forests in eastern North America, the Great Lakes...
Desmans are diving insectivores of the tribe Desmanini (also considered a subfamily, Desmaninae) in the mole family, Talpidae. This tribe consists of two...
2185. PMID 10731132. Ceurstemont, Sandrine (6 July 2013). "Inevitable insectivores? Not so fast". New Scientist. 219 (2924): 35. doi:10.1016/S0262-4079(13)61691-7...
the canopy, and still others on the forest floor. Forest birds may be insectivores, frugivores, or nectarivores. Aquatic birds generally feed by fishing...
herbivorous and others carnivorous, including seed-eaters, fish-eaters, insectivores, and omnivores. While dinosaurs were ancestrally bipedal (as are all...
and New Mexico. P. scanctaefidei feed on insects species making it a insectivore, an organism that has a diet of primarily insects, arthropods and other...
insectivory. Terms for organisms that practice entomophagy are entomophage and insectivore. Entomophagy is sometimes defined to also include the eating of arthropods...
New World tree frog belonging to the family Hylidae. This nocturnal insectivore is moderately sized and has a bright green to reddish-brown coloration...
island montane forest/brush endemic to western Puerto Rico and was an insectivore. There are fossil specimens located in London. It disappeared after introduction...
This is a list of mammals native to the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The following tags are used to highlight each species' conservation status as assessed...
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